Just weeks before its looming closure date, Tri-County Produce owner John Dixon — who announced that he would be retiring at the end of this month — revealed that a deal has been worked out to sell the business to two longtime employees, Jaime Desales Sr., and his son, Jaime Desales Jr., who will be leading the Santa Barbara mainstay into the future.
Dixon, whose father, Jim, took over the business in 1985, said the transition was a strikingly familiar move considering Tri-County Produce’s history of family ownership. The shop started its life as a produce wholesaler in the ’50s and ’60s, until Virgil and Marie Elliot took over and opened the doors to the public in 1976. The Dixon family were the next stewards of the shop, and for 40 years, they helped Tri-County Produce grow as a local staple for fresh fruit, vegetables, and specialty foods.
Dixon said he was looking forward to passing the torch over to Desales Sr., who has been an employee with Tri-County for 26 years, and his son, known as “Mito,” who will both carry on the store's tradition of family and community values.